Multi-dimensional Country Reviews (MDCRs) are the result of a collaborative effort between the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) and the country under review. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) MDCR was led by the OECD Development Centre and carried out jointly with the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs, the Development Co‑operation Directorate, the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, and the Statistics and Data Directorate, with excellent support from the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Lao PDR. The review was initiated at a multi-stakeholder seminar in Vientiane in April 2023 and officially approved by the Lao PDR Ministry of Planning and Investment in August 2023.
The review was produced under the guidance of Ragnheiður Elín Árnadóttir, Director of the OECD Development Centre. The review was led and co‑ordinated by Jan Rielaender, Head of Country Diagnostics and Strategy, together with Agnes Stenström, Policy Analyst.
Chapters 1 and 2 were drafted by Jan Rielaender and Agnes Stenström. Chapter 3 was drafted by Abdoulaye Fabregas, Economist, with support from Clémence Decisy, Policy Analyst, under the supervision of Olivier Cattaneo, Team Lead and Senior Policy Analyst, all at the Unit for Architecture and Analysis at the Development Co‑operation Directorate. Chapter 4 was drafted by Bert Brys, Head of Country Tax Policy Unit, together with Mariona Mas Montserrat and Yannic Rehm, both Tax Policy Economists in the Tax Policy and Statistics Division, all at the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Chapter 5 was drafted by Kerstin Schopohl, Economist, under the supervision of Martin Wermelinger, Head of Unit, and Fares Al Hussami, Head of Foreign Direct Investment Qualities and Impact Team, all at the Sustainable Investment Unit of the OECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. Chapter 6 was drafted by Paz Patiño, Inter-Regional Advisor, together with Karina Cázarez -Grageda (consultant), with support from Ladin Akkaymak (intern), under the supervision of Johannes Jütting, Executive Head, all at the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) at the OECD Statistics and Data Directorate. Håvard Halland, formerly Senior Economist at the OECD Development Centre, provided intellectual and analytical support to the project’s inception. Vita Volgemut, Junior Economist at the OECD Development Centre, provided excellent statistical and analytical inputs throughout the preparation of the report, Vatlana Boupha provided support in data collection as well as translation and logistical support during missions, and Myriam Andrieux (OECD Development Centre) provided secretarial assistance.
The team is grateful for the insightful contributions and comments by Setsuko Saya and Juan De Laiglesia (OECD Development Centre), Ana Novik, Stephen Thompson, Alexandre De Crombrugghe, Katharina Böhm and Sebastian Weber (Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs), Erika Bozzay, Paulo Magina, Jacobo Garcia Villarreal, Edwin Lau, Santiago Gonzalez, Tenzin Dekyi and Nicolás Penagos, all at the OECD Directorate for Public Governance; Max Bulakovskiy at OECD Global Relations; and Valentina Orru, Louis Waymel, Wouter Coussement and Ashley Palmer, all at the Development Co‑operation Directorate.
OECD Development Centre member countries met at the Mutual Learning Group for MDCRs on 29 February 2024 to review the report; the meeting was chaired by Peter Ješovnik, Ambassador of Slovenia to the OECD. Lao PDR was represented at the meeting by H.E. Mme Phonevanh Outhavong, Vice Minister, Ministry of Planning and Investment; Ms Sipaphaphone Chounramany, Director, Macroeconomic Management Planning Division, together with Mr Thammaloth Rashone, Deputy Director General, Tax Department, both at the Ministry of Finance; Mr Athitnakone Phimmasone, Deputy Director, Planning and International Cooperation Division, Tax Department, Ministry of Finance; and Mr Morakot Vongxay, Counsellor of Economic Trade and Investment, Embassy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to France. The financial support for this participation by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is gratefully acknowledged. Mr Abdelghni Lakhdar, General Secretary, Casablanca Finance City Authority (representing Morocco) as well as Ms Anzee Hassanali, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and Mr Anders Stridh, Swedish Tax Agency (both representing Sweden) served as lead reviewers. Representatives from Colombia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Korea and Norway also contributed with valuable comments and examples.
Special thanks goes to Ms Karolina Król-Skowyrska, Polish Investment and Trade Agency, who provided a presentation on the experiences from Poland’s investment strategy; to Mr Daniel Tutu Benefoh, Environmental Protection Agency of Ghana who gave a presentation on Ghana’s experiences in relation to carbon finance; to Mr Felipe Carazo, Tropical Forest Alliance, who gave a presentation on Costa Rica’s experiences in relation to carbon finance; and to Mr Martin Palm, Swedish Tax Agency, who shared experiences from Sweden on tax compliance; in various seminars organised in the context of preparing this MDCR.
This report benefited from extremely valuable comments from the MDCR’s supporting partners in Vientiane, in particular Ambassador Ina Marčiulionytė, Vincente Vire, Cécile Leroy, Sibylle de Cauwer, Bouasvan Bouasy (Delegation of the European Union in Vientiane), and Phanthanousone Khennavong. The discussions with Development Partners at the multiple meetings held throughout the preparation of this report were equally important and appreciated. Among partner institutions, we would like to thank Sara Sekkenes, Matthew Johnson-Idan and Toscan Vermast (United Nations); Sonomi Tanaka, Emma Allen and Eric Sidgwick (Asian Development Bank); Maurice Rawlins and Pedro Martins (World Bank); Anousa Kounnavong (International Monetary Fund); Bjorn Surborg, Pamela Jawad and Annette Schramm (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit); Robert de Waha and Nicolas Tasch (Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency, LuxDev); Rowan Fraser and Wesley Ramnauth (Global Green Growth Institute); Michael Ronning, Kevin Smith and Kevin McCarthy (United States Agency for International Development); Toshio Nagase (Japan International Cooperation Agency); Christina Seeberg-Elverfeldt (Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany to Lao PDR); Thavivanh Phanakhone (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, KfW); and László Takács (Embassy of Hungary in Bangkok, Office of Vientiane).
We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to H.E. Mr Khamjane Vongphosy, Minister of Planning and Investment, for his valuable guidance throughout the drafting process, particularly in ensuring the close alignment of the MDCR with the implementation of The Five-Year 9th National Socio-Economic Development Plan Financing Strategy (2023-2025). We are also grateful to H.E. Mme Phonevanh Outhavong, Vice Minister, Ministry of Planning and Investment, for her valuable insights and continuous support, particularly in bilateral and multi-stakeholder meetings.
In the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr Oula Somchanmavong (Deputy Director General, Department of Planning) and his team, especially Ms Sipaphaphone Chounramany (Director, Macroeconomic Management Planning Division), provided remarkable support and dedication in the preparation of the MDCR. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Lao Statistics Bureau, specifically to Mr Vixay Santivong (Director General, Environment Statistics Department) and his team, as well as to Ms Souphaphone Saignaleuth (Deputy Director General, Investment Promotion Department), for sharing valuable data and information.
The MDCR team is grateful for the active participation of representatives from various ministries, agencies, the private sector and non-governmental organisations in bilateral meetings, workshops and policy discussions held in 2023. These include but are not limited to the ministries/organisations in Lao PDR, such as the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the Ministry of Finance; the Bank of the Lao PDR; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Education and Sports; the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism; the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; the Ministry of Energy and Mines; the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; the National Assembly of Lao PDR; the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the China Chamber of Commerce to Lao PDR; the Natural Resources and Environment Research Institute (NRERI); the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute; the Lao Academy of Social and Economic Sciences (LASES); the Faculty of Environmental Sciences (National University of Laos); the Young Entrepreneur Association of Lao PDR; the Lao Handicraft Association; Zero Waste Laos; VDB Loi; LOCA Company Limited; the Sustainable Agriculture & Environment Development Association; the Green Community Alliance (GCA); and GOPA Statistics.
The team is also grateful for the insights shared by Mr Tim Scheffmann, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at LTS Ventures; Ms Thiane Khamvongsa, Executive Director, and Mr Enrico Bargain, Deputy Director, both at the European Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Lao PDR; Dr Michael Epprecht, Senior Research Scientist at the Centre for Development and Environment at the University of Bonn; Mr Michael Fink, Country Director, Swisscontact Lao PDR; Mr Przemek Pruszynski, CEO, Burapha Agro-Forestry; Mr Santi Saypanya, Country Program Director and Mr Alex Diment, Senior Technical Advisor, both at the Wildlife Conservation Society; and Mr Jesper Elias Lauridsen, Country Director, Helvetas Laos and his team.
Finally, the team acknowledges Brenda O’Hanlon, Liz Shepherd and James Morrow (consultants) for editing the manuscript. Delphine Grandrieux and Elizabeth Nash at the OECD Development Centre’s Communications and Publications Unit edited, laid out and produced the report.
This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the OECD Development Centre and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.